ASUS prepping Eee Pad inspired by Apple tablet?

updated 07:50 am EST, Thu December 10, 2009

by MacNN Staff

ASUS hoping to preempt a rumored device

ASUS is in the early stages of developing a tablet device partly in response to Apple's rumored tablet, a supposed leak claimed Thursday. To be called the Eee Pad, it would actually be significantly smaller than the as yet unconfirmed Apple device and would have a screen between just 4 inches and 7 inches and fit into the MID category. However, it would have some full tablet computing functions and would be "inspired" by its Apple counterpart, DigiTimes claims.

ASUS is often one of the PC makers most receptive to touchscreen technology and has made a number of Eee-branded devices with touchscreens, including its Eee Top all-in-ones and convertible Eee PC tablets. Below this size, however, it has so far only produced modest-selling Windows Mobile smartphones and PDAs.

If true, the development suggests an increasing number of preemptive reactions to a device that isn't even certain to become a finishing product. The print industry has gone so far as to prototype tablet e-books with Apple in mind even though they have received no information from the electronics maker.

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tablet companies were holding back production of their tablets in order to wait to see what Apple was going to offer in the way of a tablet. Maybe that was just a rumor. I wouldn't think that many companies would do that. I doubt if it would change much since the tablet market is relatively small and a company could revise a model with added features if necessary.

Hate to break it to Asus, but Apple already has one of those. It's called the iPod Touch and it has been out since September 2007. I wouldn't delay too much more if I were Asus ;-)

BTW even towards the top end of the projected size range (at 7") it would really be difficult to take advantage of a "full feature set." 10" would probably be considered to be the low end of the usable screen size spectrum.

They should wait so they can copy it feature for feature just like that one company that said they'd copy the iPhone and it would be cheaper and faster and more better. Oh wait, they haven't been successful with that either have they?

Re: tablet market size, it's small now, just like the smartphone market wasn't that big a priority for phone makers before the iPhone came out.

I'm starting to wonder if Apple has deliberately been drawing out the launch of their tablet to lure more companies into the tablet and e-reader market? They've been going around buying different sized screens; talking up publishers; including touch-friendly cues in Snow Leopard, all while company after company rushes to market with not-quite-wonderful devices that are Apple tablet-killers before there is even a table to kill? It's like a backwards version of all the iPhone-killer futility.

I remember when they first launched the iPhone, there was a wide array of boring smartphones for Apple to portray as the "dinosaurs". A few months ago, their upcoming tablet had no such advantage of easy competition to standout from because there was hardly a tablet-form market to speak of outside of the Kindle. So maybe rather than launch their tablet into a market poised to quickly imitate Apple, Apple has decided to bait the market into a first move of creating an array of wannabes. Which will not only limit their resources to respond, but also set the stage of how hard it is to deliver something high-quality, powerful AND affordable. Which in turn will help validate the awesomeness of an Apple iTablet and justifies any price tag Apple puts on it.

... if I have this straight.
The "rumored" ASUS device is inspired by the "unconfirmed" Apple device?
You read it here first, folks. Another fact filled scoop by the crack macnn journalists! their motto must be, "If it's 11:00 AM and you haven't heard a rumor, start one."

There are those that say there simply is no market for a tablet device and that any attempt to push one to market will be a dismal failure. Maybe Apple did their homework. Maybe they have determined a tablet to be a huge waste of time, money and resources. So they start the rumor that they are coming out with one so all the copy machine companies can waste their resources on a dead end product. Meanwhile, Apple is going down a completely different path entirely. Like an end all be all home entertainment device.

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